Houston restaurant owner says staff cheered after getting $1,000 tip on $19 order: 'Our hearts are full tonight'
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The servers at an Italian restaurant in Houston have 1,000 new reasons to be thankful after a longtime customer left a very generous tip on Friday night.
The customer, who was not identified, had placed a takeout order that totaled only $19.49 but left $1,000 as a gratuity along with a message for the staff to “stay strong” during the coronavirus health crisis.
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“When the staff found out, you could hear cheers go through the restaurant,” owner Federico Cavatore told Fox 11. “We needed that.”
“It was like we weren’t closed for regular business," the owner said of the restaurant's lively atmosphere after staff learned of the generous tip. (KRIV)
Facing dwindling business, Cavatore said he'd been doing everything in his power to keep staff employed amid the coronavirus crisis, meaning he's had to "come up with a few new ideas and try new things," the outlet reports.
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Some of the restaurant’s more unique ideas for keeping business afloat and engaging with the community include hosting car washes to raise money for staff, and awarding free dinners and gift cards to outstanding community members who are stepping up to help their neighbors.
The restaurant has also started producing pizza-making kits and bottling up its signature sangria for takeout.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“It’s definitely a scary time, but our patrons have kept our morale going and our business open,” Cavatore told Fox 11.
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Friday night’s generous tip certainly didn’t hurt morale either. Cavatore said his workers already had a "great attitude" to begin with, but really got a boost upon learning of the $1,000 tip.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}“It was like we weren’t’ closed for regular business," he told Fox 11 of the restaurant's atmosphere on Friday evening.
"Our hearts are full tonight, they're bursting," the restaurant added on Facebook.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Until the restaurant reopens, Cavatore and his team are also continuing to pay it forward, too. Cavatore has been donating pizzas to a community organization that helps feed children, and offering discounts to front line workers.